Freeview urges us to 'remember to retune'

Five - universally available - except on Mars, or outside Britain
Five - universally available - except on Mars, or outside Britain

Freeview is launching a 'remember to retune' campaign aimed at ensuring that people are getting all of the channels that they possibly can after September 30.

The free-to-air platform – the country's most popular digital TV service – is keen to remind people that all Freeview and Freeview+ boxes will need to be retuned in order for people to continue to receive several channels including Five and ITV4.

The former is the key beneficiary of the retune, with the channel finally becoming as widely available as the other terrestrial channels, but there will also be technical changes to pave the way for the launch of the eagerly anticipated Freeview HD service which will begin to surface at the end of the year.

Universally available...

"Making Five universally available at the point of switchover is great news for viewers and just one of the benefits in the pipeline for Freeview," said Freeview managing director Ilse Howling.

"Many of our viewers regularly retune but we want to make sure everyone shares the benefits of our channels and services.

"In the same way you would regularly check tyre pressure and keep water levels topped up on a car, get into the habit of retuning your digital box, Freeview+ recorder or digital TV from time-to-time.

"It is a simple process and takes only a few minutes but anyone who needs further assistance will be able to visit a website to read guides on how to retune or phone an automated helpline for advice."

The campaign will run from September – with messages on the most popular channels and in the media.

Patrick Goss

Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content.  After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.